MSc by Research Student

Course Start: October 2019

Supervisor: Dr Jeffrey Aldous
Supervisor 2: Dr Rebecca Jones

Working thesis title

Does mixed method pre-match and half-time cooling augment cognitive function during a soccer-specific simulation in a hot and humid environment (33°C & 60% rH, wet-bulb globe temperature: 28.5°C?

Abstract

Soccer match-play is a high-speed, intermittent team-sport which consists of two 45-min halves, interspersed by a 15-min half-time break (Stolen et al., 2005). Success during soccer match-play is determined by a plethora of factors including; physical, tactical, technical and physiological measures (Stolen et al., 2005). It is pivotal that players sustain high levels of both concentration and attentiveness whilst maintaining skilful action and physical performance under high physiological strain (Smith et al., 2015). High-speed running has been emphasised as one of the most important indicators of physical performance in elite soccer players, alongside straight sprinting, corresponding with the decisive short and intense actions that characterise the effort made by players (Stolen et al., 2005). Sprints and high-speed running are crucial as they have been correlated to moments that precede a goal (61%) or assist (67%) during match-play (Faude et al., 2012). This contribution of fatigue leads players to increase the rate of mistakes, as a result of decrements within cognitive function, and can lead to either side scoring or conceding more goals (Armatas et al., 2007).

Several major international soccer competitions are situated in the summer months (June & July) where high ambient temperatures are prominent, such temperatures have been shown in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2019 Copa America in Brazil (30-35°C). Soccer played at 43 °C heat has impacted physical performance (7%-26%) alongside an increase in both core temperature (39.5 ± 0.1°C) and muscle temperature 40.3 ± 0.1°C) (Mohr et al., 2012). A further decrement in sprint performance (-5.8%) was seen in the final 15-min of simulated soccer performance at 30 oC, (Aldous et al., 2016). This is important to acknowledge as sprinting is commonly completed prior to the technical actions of a goals and/or assists in a soccer match play (Faude et al., 2012).

Cognitive function defines performance in objective tasks that require conscious mental effort (Lamport et al., 2014). These tasks are often categorized as either ‘simple’ or ‘complex’ (Ramsey and Kwon, 1992). Cognitive function is crucial in sport, as it controls; decision making, goal directed actions, immediate behavioural adjustments in response to an opponent (dual sports), pacing strategy, encode and attend to steady targets such as shooting targets, interpret specific proprioceptive information (Smits et al., 2014). It has been shown that performing cognitive function tasks for a prolonged period has resulted in a decrease in cognitive function in temperate conditions (18°C) (Lorist et al., 2005). Furthermore, this is stated to be exacerbated in hot environment (50°C and 60%) conditions, potentially leading to a negative match outcome in soccer match-play (Qian et al., 2015).

The success of technical skills is determined by cognition function during soccer match-play (Vestberg et al., 2012). However, physical performance markers such as high-speed running, cognitive function tasks are reduced by elevations in both core and skin temperature and decrements in thermal comfort during soccer-specific exercise (Taylor et al., 2014; Watkins et al., 2014). Previous simulated (Aldous et al., 2019) and soccer match-play (Duffield et al., 2013) data has shown that mixed-methods pre-match and half-time cooling has improved these key physical performance markers in hot environments. However, research investigating the impact of these cooling strategies on cognitive function following soccer-specific exercise is limited. One study by (Bandelow et al., 2010) showed higher core temperature caused significant negative effects on speed in all the cognitive test after each 45-min half of soccer match-play. The cooling interventions had an enhancement on the input on complex visuo-motor speed. However, this study utilised a soccer match-play design, which can be impacted by a plethora of match-factors including tactics, substitutions score-line which can be minimised by soccer-specific simulations (Bloomfield et al., 2007; Bradely et al., 2011). Therefore, future research is needed to identify the impact of pre-match and half-time cooling on cognitive function in hot environment when utilising a soccer-specific simulation.

About Me

I graduated from Bedford University in July 2019 with a degree in Sports and Exercise Science (BSc). During my degree I particularly enjoyed laboratory work, example in 2nd year helping a third-year student collect their data for their dissertation. The dissertation was on the effect of caffeine supplementation on female’s soccer performance. Within the data collection we looked at perceptual measures and physiological measures such as blood lactate and glucose. Within this period, I came to realise my love for laboratory studies and analysing soccer performances as I also play soccer myself.

My own dissertation was analysing the effect of menthol mouth wash and cold-water face spray within an intermittent sprint protocol, within hot and humid conditions. After this I realised that I wanted to carry on researching in the environmental physiology area and decided that a master’s by Research would be the right route for me. The area of my thesis is a combination of two of the key areas I love (soccer performance and environmental physiology) which makes me excited to take part within this research.

Are you willing for students to get in touch about participating in your study?

Yes

Contact Information

E: charlotte.murphy@study.beds.ac.uk